River Run Race Recap

Say that title five times fast.  This past weekend I completed the River Run Half Marathon in Cleveland.  This was a carefully chosen race based on a strong recommendation from a fellow runner.  After looking at the course and seeing that it was primarily flat and mostly having a slight down hill grade, I knew this was the race to add to my schedule.  Not only was I going to complete this race, but I was going to attempt to PR.  I wanted to put everything out there on the road so that I knew I gave it my all if I were to come up short.  My PR time to beat was 1 hour 57 minutes and some change completed a few years ago.  This would be my fourth half marathon this year and I would need to shave off 4 minutes from my fastest one this year alone.  I was up to the challenge.

Race day was around the corner and the forecast was calling for wind and lots of rain.  Based on the day before, the rain with the added 20 mph wind gusts could be a complete bummer for a race.  Up to this point, we’ve trained in squelching heat and humidity.  I was struggling with what to wear so I wouldn’t get too hot, but wouldn’t be shivering at the start.  If my toes get cold, I would never get them warm again.

The morning of the race, I was psyched to see what the weather was going to be like an hour north.  I filled my new hydration flasks and started to get a little nervous about the course.  Those pre-race jitters can really do a number on a person.  We hopped on the bus to take us to the start line and drove through most of the course.  It was a very windy course through the metro parks.

Time to start the race.  I line up midway through the pack and wait for the start.  When the sound goes off, I take off and throw my jacket to the side.  I went with the pack and we hit that first mile at 8:15 pace.  I wanted to average an 8:50 to hit my goal so I knew I was pushing it a little much.  I just kept going with how I felt and pushed through each mile.  There was a volunteer at every single mile marker calling off times, which was motivational for me.  At mile 4, I quickly grabbed water at the aid station and when I looked up shortly after I spotted an eagle in a tree.  I was so excited that I actually pointed it out to other runners, but everyone around me had their headphones in and up too loud.  I was one of the few runners without ear buds and just enjoying the scenery around me.

Mile 6, I needed to get some GU and water.  I had started to cramp in my sides and was having difficulty breathing while running.  I knew that if I got some water and food (I don’t eat before a race), I would feel stronger and can push on.  At this point I had settled into a comfortable 8:30 pace anyway.  I continued to push myself through each aid station and around mile 9 was confronted by 3 young deer.  They were trying to figure out a way to cross the street amidst the sea of runners.  They decided to cross right behind me, which I was thankful for them not running into me!

Mile 10 and 11 came and went but I was starting to have more cramping issues.  Only this time I was in need of a bathroom.  Around 11.8 miles, I found a port-a-potty and made a stop.  A minute later and I was back on my route to finish the 13.1 mile course.  The finish line was just around the bend and I heard the announcer say 1 hour 55 minutes and 15 seconds.  I was slightly crushed.  I thought I would beat my goal PR and hit just under 1:55.  I ended up crossing at 1:55:45 with a  chip time of 1:55:25.  Definitely a PR! 

Two things played into my time, the bathroom and the course being slightly longer than 13.1 (my watch and my friend’s watch both said 13.25).  I probably could have hit 1:53….maybe next year.  This was a fun course beautiful scenery and lots of support at each mile.  There were ample water stops and bathrooms with lots of post race food options!  The shuttle back to the car wasn’t a long wait and we were able to get into warmer clothes right away!

I would recommend this race to anyone wanting to push themselves and hit a new PR.

Next scheduled half is in November, but I may run a full before that….we shall see.  As always, be confident, be fit, be you!!!!

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First Race

This past weekend was filled with fun adventures for our family of four.  We enjoyed the Pittsburgh children’s museum again, a favorite of ours!  We spent lots of time with family for a birthday picnic! Enjoyed the outdoors at the county fair where our 4-year-old completed her first race!  Racing was something I wanted her to enjoy when she was ready but not push it too early.  Our kids have been playing “Race” with my medals and my mom’s medals for about a year now.  I’ve wanted her to participate in a kids fun run for a while, but didn’t want it to be a hundred yard dash.  I knew she could do more than that because we walk all the time.  After searching for a race for the little one, I came across a nice 1 mile run at the local county fair.

The Stampede race had a “Country Mile” option as they called it before a 5k.  Individuals could register for the mile, 5k or both. The mile was starting an hour before the 5k, so there was no concern for finishing in time before the next race started.  The race fee would get her a medal of her own and entry into the fair.  She would be excited!  I signed us both up for the Country Mile.  The race time was not ideal with a 9am start and the 5k starting at 10, so I opted to only complete the 1 mile.  It was a double loop around the dirt track.

The day of the race was upon us and I was pinning her race bib to her shirt.  She was getting excited and her brother was less patient.  We did a couple of practice laps around some of the vendors at the fair just to get us warmed up.  The little one did some stretching with Mimi and we went to the track to wait for the start.  It was an inaugural race with a ton of race options in the area, so the pool of racers was very limited.  Daughter H was the youngest in the group to complete the 1 mile.

We set off around the track and about a quarter of a mile in, she was getting HOT.  It was a scorcher, so I don’t blame her.  But, we enticed her to keep going because the back portion of the track was shadded.  She made it around the track and as we circled the hay bail to head back the other direction, she was starting to negotiate for some sweet treats.  She wanted shaved ice, ice cream, cold water poured on her head, anything to keep her cool.

As we were coming around the end and she was getting ready to cross the finish line she took my hand and we went across together!  They hung her medal around her neck and cheered for her since it was her first race!  I poured some cool water on her head and apparently she didn’t really want that after all.  A few tears later and being allowed to dump water on my head made up for that parenting mistake.  She was proud of herself for finishing but wanted something to help cool her down.  Unfortunately the fair vendors were still not open.

Little H’s medal is now proudly displayed in her room for her to see it daily.  She has requested to get more medals to hang on her wall! I may need to make her own display rack for her to hang her accomplishments up as she earns them!  I want to encourage her to be active without burning her out or pushing her further than her body is capable at this point.  She is young and I want her to enjoy exercising and being outdoors.

Where does the time go?

When you were younger the adults in your life would say how “fast” life was going for them.  It isn’t until you hit a certain age or parenthood that you realize just how true that statement rings.  I haven’t had the time to sit down and write something that I felt would be worth while.  Time has gone by fast and lots of things have happened in the last five months.  Let’s talk racing and training!

February, March and April I spent preparing for a half marathon I had signed up for a year in advance.  Mid-April I ran the Athens Half Marathon and felt horrible.  The race didn’t go as planned and if it had rained the whole time, I would have quit half way through.  My first race back since before my second child and it was not picture perfect.  I needed a do-over.  I signed up for another half marathon right away that was just a month away.  I decided to just run that for fun and to help a fellow runner hit their PR.  Race day came and I was feeling pretty good.  Traffic was horrific and I was afraid I wouldn’t get to the start line in time before the gun went off.  Fast forward and my friend hit her PR!

Athens

Canton

 

At the Expo for the May race I decide to sign up for a 3rd half marathon just two weeks

Medina

after the second.  I’m already trained and ready to go, so why not?  The Medina half marathon course was also supposed to be for fun.  But, I was feeling good and thought I could hit a sub-2 hour time.  I have only hit that two other times and one was pre-baby number one and the other was post-baby number one.  It had been years!  Sadly I finished in 2:00:58.  Yes you read that right.  Just 59 seconds short of the sub-two hour time frame.

This prompted another half marathon sign up.  However, it is at the beginning of September, so I have been training hard.  My friend from the May race that PR’d signed up for the upcoming half as well as the Columbus Marathon.  I decided I would help her train and have gone a numerous long runs with her to help keep pace.  There are times when I felt like I have held her back, like that first 20 miler, but we keep moving forward!  To be honest, that is only the second time in my life I have run 20 miles.  The first time was the only time I attempted a Marathon.

After a seriously long training run! We’re still smiling!

For the big finally to this post, I got into Trail running.  My hubby was listening to a podcast with Joe Rogan and he had Courtney Dauwalter on after completing the MOAB 240.  She not only kicked butt on the course, she beat the second person by 10 hours.  Over 240 miles she ran in 2 days, 9 hours and 59 minutes.  It was insane!  From there I went on my first trail run with my Run Happy friends and it was a completely different experience.  I started binge watching YouTube videos of trail and ultra running.  The pictures and views were incredible.  I was living vicariously through these other trail runners.  I decided to sign up for a trail race.  I asked the people of the inter webs just which races were worth completing in our area on my birthday.  That’s right, I wanted to spend my birthday out running in the woods!  I was directed to the BobCat Marathon and half marathon and decided to give it a go.  I’ve implemented hills into my workouts and have the full understanding that I will be much slower than a road race.  But, the views will be worth it!  With all this information and my obsession with podcasts and YouTube videos on ultra running, I have decided to sign up for a 50 mile race next June.  Yes, you read that right, 50 MILE trail race!  I have a few people interested in completing it with me and I’m excited to start some serious cross training.  Apparently there are some serious gains in elevation.

I’m excited for how this year has spiraled in my running journey.  The only few times I have flaked on a group run is when I wasn’t feeling well or my kids literally did not sleep the night before.  Other than that, I have gotten my butt out of bed in the 4 o’clock hour 5 days a week and on the weekends it is 5.  I’m staying healthy, meeting some incredibly nice people and enjoying running once again!

Until next time:

Be Confident! Be Fit! Be You!

Training Continues

I haven’t stopped training and I haven’t stopped tracking with various forms of tracking methods.  What I have stopped doing was updating my blog weekly with the recaps.  To be honest, I think “oh, I’ll just update every two weeks.”  But then that comes and goes and I still haven’t updated anyone on my training.  So, here goes the few weeks of training recaps as well as the Weight Watchers updates.

Training has continued to be 5 days a week.  I have 3 run days and 2 cross training days.  I am using the 80 day obsession sessions for the cross training.  I actually want to complete this entire series when I am done with my half.  I may modify to keep 2 running days a week because I want to keep up some distance running.  I’m loving the 80 day obsession workouts because they are hard but they don’t include a lot of jumping and lunges, both of which my knees can’t handle.

My running has increased and my longest run so far completed is 7 miles.  I’m actually ahead in mileage for this training plan, but the longer runs skip over 8 and 10 miles and go from 9 to 11.  So, by being a little ahead I can add in a 10 mile run with no problem and just inch up each week by 1 mile instead of 2.  I ran my 5 mile training run with a

7 mi. training run in 18*F

group of people training for either a full or half the week after my race.  During that run I met some very nice people and they introduced me to a group called Run Happy.  I joined their facebook group and found other crazy people that run at 5am consistently.  I was able to join up with them and have a good solid group of people to run with for my 7 mile training run.  I plan to join them each Saturday at the crack of dawn to train.  It gives me a sense of safety instead of running by myself.  Plus, I don’t find myself playing mind games to finish when I am with a group.  I keep pushing and telling myself to keep moving forward and make a turn that is further away from your car instead of ending short of the goal.

As for Weight Watchers, I am down 9lbs since I started 5 weeks ago.  I am losing slowly, which I am perfectly content with the results.  I haven’t completely given up my sweets and I’ve overindulged a few too many times.  I’m sure that number could be a little higher, but I haven’t deprived myself from foods that I want either, I have just cut back a little.  Over time, I am sure that I will be able to cut back even more to squash this sweet tooth that has taken over my taste buds.  I haven’t tracked everything, especially when I know the points will be insanely high.  Part of the reason I haven’t tracked certain foods is due to the process.  Not every recipe I use is in the system and I have to create a recipe before I can add the points.  This can be frustrating when the recipe on paper already tells me the points and I can’t just do a quick add, name the food, add the points and move on.  Regardless, I will continue to use the tracker and connect to help make me accountable for what I choose to eat.  Only when I am fully honest with myself will I see success.

Goals for this coming week:  Keep working through the training plan.  Track more consistently and honestly.  No CHOCOLATE- decided to give this up for Lent this year and I’ve noticed the struggle, but it is also a good thing.  I haven’t replaced the sweet with another form of sugar.  I did make egg-less chocolate chip cookie dough on Fat Tuesday and at half of it in preparation.

Be confident! Be fit! Be you!

Success Week!

Getting right down into the nitty gritty with this one.  As I mentioned in my last post, I started training for a half marathon that will take place in April, I joined Weight Watchers again and I started writing my workouts in my planner before they happen.  It was all for the best!  I tracked every item of food I put in my body and I noticed a huge change.  I was looking for fruits and vegetables to consume over things with loads of sugar.  I was on within the point range for 6 out of 7 days.  The one day I was not in points was a day that I ran out of coffee creamer at home and decided to stop at Dunkin for breakfast.  All of my points were consumed in that one meal.  But, I didn’t let that ruin my day.  I ate all zero point foods the rest of the day in light quantities (they still have calories after all) and have felt full and satisfied.  I was down almost two pounds on Monday for my weigh in and I’m starting to feel like I’ve got some control again.

As for the workouts, I rocked those too!  I got up Monday morning determined to complete each workout that was written in my planner.  The week looked as follows:

Monday: Run 3 miles (Treadmill)
Tuesday: 30 min. Total Core from 80 day obsession + 15 min. walk on the treadmill
Wednesday: 50 min. leg day from 80 day obsession
Thursday: Rest day- I determined that my body can only get up at 4:30am 3 days in  row before I feel like I need to go to bed before dinner on the fourth day.  So, I switched the Friday rest day to Thursday.
Friday: Run 2 miles and 20 min. strength training
Saturday: 4mi. run
Sunday: I will be resting tomorrow

After week 2 of this training schedule I am feeling comfortable in my decision to change it up from the usual running five days a week plan.  The break up of running with strength and stretching keeps me excited to wake up at insane hours of the morning.  I’ve also discovered that 80 Day Obsession will definitely be a series I complete after I am done with half training.  I may break it up with 2 runs a week just so I can keep running, but I want to start and finish the whole program.  It would be my first BeachBody program I actually do the entire program.  I got 60 days into T25 and was bored.  This program is actually designed to change it up for every workout.

With everything in our world we are given challenges.  My challenge is myself.  The confidence and belief in myself has always been a battle.  Working out gives me self-esteem and keeps me feeling like there is nothing in this world that I can’t do when I set my mind to it.  I am going to push through this training program and stick with Weight Watchers until I feel confident in myself.  I’m encouraged by the people on Connect (the message group on the App) who have lost and maintained for years.  I did it prior to having my second child and I know I can do it again.

What were your successes this week?  Did you write them down?  Try writing in your workouts before the week starts.  Once they are planned into your day, it is harder to skip.  Until next weeks update, be confident, be fit, be you!

Training has commenced

Uh oh! It looks like I fell off the blogging train a month ago and didn’t know how to get back on board.  Well, I haven’t figured out a schedule to sit down and write that seems conducive to family time, working, meal prepping, half marathon training and sleep.  Yes, that last one is usually the thing I sacrifice the most these days.  I knew my schedule would get tighter when I made a commitment to healthier eating and getting more physical exercise.

So, what has happened in the last month.  I joined Weight Watchers again.  I was very successful with the program a year and a half before I had my daughter.  I even lost all the weight relatively quick after delivery and maintained that for a little over a year.  Then we decided to expand our family and my food cravings were for anything and everything that did not include a fruit or vegetable.  Fast forward about two years and I still don’t fit into most of my pants.  So, I joined Weight Watchers a second time and have been committed to tracking points.

I signed up for onceamonthmeals.com and picked foods that were healthy and didn’t include processed foods.  My mom and I spent two days prepping 30 meals to have for lunches and dinners.  Most of the meals were insanely easy to prep and we’ve only ordered out once in two weeks.  That is a HUGE improvement for our family.  *disclaimer: we did go out to eat one night for dinner for a fundraiser*  The website provides a grocery shopping list, a prep day set of instructions, labels for the containers and cooking day instructions.  I plan to do this type of prep about every 3 weeks, just not at the extent of the first go around.

I started my training for my half marathon!  I signed up for this half last April for a seriously low price.  It has finally come to start training with a bit more intention.  I
found a training plan on pinterest that would work with my schedule and wouldn’t feel like I was only running on the treadmill.  There are numerous cross training days and I’ve got my beach body on demand ready to go to assist with that training.  I use my planner to track my workouts, water intake and successes/challenges for the day.  I feel ready to go and I have found some serious support in a virtual running group!

Finally, I signed up for 7 virtual races with the Hogwarts Running Club that is run by the non-profit Random Tuesday Inc.  It has been the most supportive group of people to get me back into running and fitness in general.  The first race is scheduled and I’m even planning to meet up with local members to run as a group!  If anyone is interested in running the Nargle 9k, sign up here.  I encourage everyone looking for fitness support to join the Facebook group
@HogwartsRunningClub.

So, all in all I haven’t been slacking too much.  Just on this blog.  I hope to be consistent with it to provide updates on my training.  Until next time, what do you like to do while running/walking on the treadmill?

Be Confident! Be Fit! Be you!

This post does have links, but I receive no kick backs for clicking or registering.

 

Weekly Update 12/9-12/15

As we near the end of the year, I’m sure everyone is feeling the stress of the holiday season. Lots of cookies being exchanged, dinners and parties to attend, and drinks with old friends to catch up.  With so much going on, it can be hard to keep things on track.  But, it’s important to at least balance the healthy with the unhealthy and remember moderation.

I started the week with some very healthy meals.  I packed up my yumbox with celery, carrots, mixed nuts, cheese and an apple.  I ate left over chicken and rice soup and avoided all candy bowls floating around the office.  I had two lunches provided by work this week and I managed to not over-indulge in either of those meals.  I’d say my food week was a step in the right direction.  I ate more vegetables this week than I probably have in the last 3 weeks combined.  That was definitely an area in my life that was slacking and needing major intervention.

Now for the workouts.

Saturday and Sunday- I completely slacked.  I spent some much needed time with my kids and tried to catch up on some house stuff that I was unable to do while I was working.

Monday- Treadmill run.  3.5 miles.  I will admit I run at a slow pace on the treadmill.  I am very uncoordinated and can easily trip over my own two feet.  So, I set the treadmill between a 4.5-5 and just run for 45 minutes.  I can run much faster outside. I’m just not able to get outside during the week and we’ve hit winter here so I’m going to be a baby and stay indoors.

Tuesday: 1/2 mile run, upper body work, 1/2 mile run. I wrote down everything so that I could repeat on Thursday.

Wednesday: Treadmill run with 5- 1 minute sprints.  I dared the treadmill and would kick the speed up to 7 for one minute and then back down to 4.6.

Thursday: Unintentional rest day.  My daughter struggled to sleep and so I was too tired to wake up and get moving.

Friday:  Repeat of Tuesday because I wanted to get the second weight day in before the week was over.

I still managed to get 4 workouts in this week- Success in my book!  This upcoming week will continue to be chaotic as we approach Christmas.  But, I still want to get at least 4 workouts in and limit my treats.  My goal is not to lose weight during the holidays, but to maintain.  I will worry about losing weight after the holidays are over.  I will continue to add in vegetables and fruit into my diet.  This weekend I am going to take our 3 year old ice skating!  That completely counts as a workout!  I hope she enjoys it because the lake is starting to freeze enough to go out.  For now, we will stick with the indoor arena.

How did you do this past week?  Can you avoid the holiday sweets?  Have you started to set goals for the new year?

Until next time, be confident, be fit, be you!

Weekly Update 12/2-12/8/17

This week has been a whirlwind with home and work.  The family was still working to clear the germs and we had a wedding to attend on Sunday.  The wedding was beautiful and the dessert table was impeccable.  It was hard. and I was unsuccessful, at limiting yourself with the vast array of goodies.  I have a hard time passing up homemade baklava, especially when it says grandma’s.

I was out of town for work a few days this week, which allowed me to get some much needed rest.  Sorry, mom and dad.  They were watching the kids since my husband works far away and we didn’t want to disrupt their sleep schedule too much.  However, my kids don’t sleep and my parents learned that first hand.  I’m sure they were excited to have a quiet house last night and get some sleep without having a child staring at them creepily in the middle of the night.

Now, down to the nitty gritty with the workouts.

Saturday: Treadmill run.  It was surprisingly nice for Northeast Ohio, but I’m still not prepared enough to get outside below certain temperatures.  My dedication hasn’t come back completely.

Sunday: Unintentional rest day.  Went grocery shopping, then church and then realized I had the wrong time for the wedding.  So, it was quite a day.

Monday: Treadmill run

Tuesday: Weight day.  I brought back the weight day and it felt pretty good!

Wednesday: Hit the road for work and then attended a training all day.  I could have worked out in the evening at the hotel, but I decided to just relax.  The training was on Ohio Healthy Programs which is working with child care providers to change they way they feed children.  Very interesting information and could make a big impact on how children eat in the future.  Promotes healthy eating and healthy body image.

Thursday: Treadmill run

Friday: Weight day

Overall, I am proud of myself for getting 5 workouts in this week.  That is an improvement.  I did indulge a few times this week with the wedding and then with traveling.  I’m excited to start trying some of the information I learned in my training with my own picky eater.  Although I want her to eat and not go to bed hungry, I want her to eat healthier.  I want my entire family to eat healthier.  I may actually have to learn to cook something that they will eat. #I’mahorriblecook  Any tips would be helpful!

My goal for this upcoming week is to continue to get at least 5 workouts in with 3 running days and 2 weight training days.  Incorporate healthier lunches

 into my work week.  It is also the holiday season, so there are lots of treats coming into work.

I am going to try to limit myself as much as possible.  As I was reminded in my training, we should not reward ourselves with food.  There are so many other options out there!  Until next time, be confident, be fit, be you!

Weekly Update End of November 2017

Well, this post will be extremely short.  I was late to post for the previous week so my update only includes a few days.  Of those few days, I was only able to workout one of them and it was at the beginning of the week.  Last weekend our kids came down with a cold and we’ve spent the week battling late night coughing sessions and runny noses.

I was able to get a treadmill run in on Monday before my exhaustion set in during the rest of the week.  There were days when I struggled to get out of bed for work, which I’m sure my coworkers easily noticed.  Although it was a rough week, I am not terribly upset about missing some workouts.  Apparently my body was needing a small break.

I did notice one thing…I have to get off of fast food.  My job has changed dramatically over the last year and I am on the road way more often.  I enjoy my job and getting to meet and work with a lot of new people all the time.  However, I have not figured out how to prepare for a day of being on the road and eating healthy meals that are filling.  I’ve scoured the internet over the last week to come up with some ideas to attempt a healthier food day.  Since I am on the road, I don’t have a microwave available to me and there are some foods that I just can’t eat cold.  I don’t mind taking left overs at all, but they usually need warmed up.

So, in the end, the week came and went and not much progress was made.  I plan to get up early and get some workouts in this coming week.  I will also be out of town for work for a few days.  What that means is a guarantee that I will get workouts in on those days. I am going alone and will be bored in the evening hours so I will probably hit up the treadmill and walk while I watch TV.  

I hope everyone has a wonderful start to December and finish off the year strong! Don’t wait until January to start a resolution.  Make and change now and end the year with a bang!  Until next week, be confident, be fit, be you!

Norwex Review

A few weeks ago I did a review on JuJuBe, which since then I have added even more to my stash, and wanted to  continue that idea with another product review.  With the holidays around the corner with gift giving at an all time high, I’m hoping these reviews may sway a few people.  I understand cleaning products are generally frowned upon for gifts, but some people would really love and appreciate these items.  So, let’s get down and dirty with some of the Norwex products I have used and instantly fell in love.

The enviro cloth.  I have used a large amount of microfiber cloths over the years and they all fall apart or get this weird gritty feeling.  I’ve even used the e-cloth brand which is similar to Norwex but slightly lower quality.  The Norwex cloths feel amazing and everything gets trapped in the microfiber.  It takes no time at all and only water to clean my very messy 1 year old and the table surrounding him after spaghetti dinner.  I just rinse the cloth clean and use again with the next mess.  I can do that with the Norwex cloths because it contains silver which kills germs so I’m not spreading bacteria.  I’ve removed all of the other cloths from my cleaning supplies and only use Norwex enviro cloths for my house.  They come in a variety of colors so I’ve labeled specific colors for their intended use.  Although they have the bacteria killing ability, I am still not using a cloth on my toilet one day and then on my kitchen counter the next.  Labeling allows me to keep them very organized.

Next, I purchased the mop pads.  I completely understand the hesitation for not purchasing the mop system.  It is a steep price tag.  But, I already had the BONA mopping system and the cloths fit fairly well on that handle.  I can now quickly sweep my floors with one cloth and just brush the dirt into the trash.  For larger piles of dirt from dog hair, I use my Dyson to vacuum up before mopping.  The mopping pad uses just a little water and the same handle.  I love being able to clean my house with just water and know that I am collecting the germs that are lying around in the cloth.

Finally, I use the mattress cleaner.  I purchased this due to my daughters allergies.  It was recommended we get rid of the carpet and stuffed animals to cut down on the dust that collects.  However, the cost to remove carpet and replace with good quality flooring is a bit much at this time.  We will do this in the near future.  Plus, asking a 3 year old to give away her mountain of stuffed animals is a little tear-jerking.  So, I bought this spray.  I am able to spray all of her stuffed animals once a month as well as the mattress in her room and the little chair in the play area.  It deep cleans the items, leaving them free of body oils, dander and other contaminants.

Now, those are the products that I am currently using as well as hand towels in a few of my bathrooms.   My wishlist, on the other hand, is actually quite long for Norwex products.  The products save time and money, not to mention the amazing benefits for my family.  They have child sized products to allow the little ones in your life to assist in the cleaning.  I actually find myself cleaning more frequently because of the ease with the products.  I should also mention that I am not a seller for Norwex nor am I going to link any one seller to this post.  The reason, I want you to have your own gathering.  Invite one of the sellers in your area over to show you how amazing the products are in real life.  If you are going to invest in these cleaning products, you want to be able to touch them and use them in areas of your home prior to buying.  As for gifts for the cleaning and organizing person in your life, maybe a gift certificate in a stocking or one of the cleaning cloths just to get them introduced to one of the best products on the market.